German public broadcaster Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (ZDF) has retracted a claim regarding Elon Musk's alleged instigation of a mob to hunt migrants during the Belfast riots. The retraction followed a legal threat from Musk, who described the claims as 'outrageous lies.'
On June 12, ZDF aired a program titled 'Riots in Belfast — How Musk Fueled the Protests,' which suggested Musk had called for violence against migrants. After Musk's lawyers sent a cease-and-desist letter, ZDF removed the contested passage and stated that the wording was taken down for legal reasons.
ZDF confirmed that Musk's legal team had requested a cease-and-desist declaration, which the broadcaster complied with. Musk's lawyer, Joachim Steinhöfel, expressed satisfaction with the outcome, stating that the claims against Musk were unjustifiable.
The program's introduction claimed that the Belfast riots, which followed an attempted beheading by a Sudanese immigrant, were instigated by Musk. ZDF presenters described Musk as a 'British right-wing extremist and tech millionaire' who called for a 'racist mob' to hunt migrants. Despite the outrage surrounding the attempted beheading, Musk did not publicly endorse the riots.